Wolf Creek 2

Published: 07 March 2014

A notable increase in budget cannot help this sequel live up to its predecessor. We are reintroduced to outback dwelling, pig shooting serial-killer Mick Taylor (John Jarratt) as he murders two crooked policemen.

The bloodletting then slows for a moment as we meet two German backpackers who take a hike to the ridge of the Wolf Creek meteor crater – viewers familiar with the first film will guess what happens next after Taylor stumbles upon their campsite. In the ensuing melee, English tourist Paul Hammersmith (Ryan Corr) is drawn into a sadistic game of cat and mouse with this xenophobic lunatic bent on eradicating foreigners from his backcountry domain.

Before launching into any specific assessment of the film, a serious warning is required. Wolf Creek 2 is extreme and explicit in its violence (both seen and heard) and language – viewers ought to take great caution before attending a screening.

While the first film took significant steps to introduce the protagonists before they fell into the villain’s hands, this follow-up forgoes the creation of audience sympathy in favour of an increased body count. We enjoy at most two minutes of screen time with Corr’s jovial Paul before he enters Taylor’s crosshairs, so while he flees and fights for his life, the audience has no relationship with the character to ensure any sense of empathy.

The second key problem with the film lies in the presentation of Mick Taylor himself, who is this second film’s focus. The promotion of Taylor from antagonist to the centre for the sequel is not an unusual choice in the canon of horror films, however the script misses its chance to shed greater light on his character as one would hope. If anything, it only serves to make him more of a cypher.

Although overwhelmed by the human side of the picture, the Australian landscape practically steals the show. Gorgeously framed and lensed, scenes of stark beauty sit uneasily alongside the horrific torture.

Although Mick Taylor is the anti-advertisement Tourism Australia likely still has nightmares about, Greg McLean and his cinematographer Toby Oliver try their best to make up for it and the rolling hills and dusty plains almost seem worth taking the risk to visit. Almost.